TED2011
Mark Bezos: A life lesson from a volunteer firefighter
Mark Bezos: En livserfaring fra en frivillig brannmann
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Frivillig brannmann Mark Bezos forteller en historie om heltemot som ikke gikk helt som planlagt -- men som lærte ham en viktig lærdom: Ikke vent på å bli en helt.
Mark Bezos - Activist, volunteer firefighter
Mark Bezos works at Robin Hood, a poverty-fighting charity in New York City, and the assistant captain of a volunteer fire company in suburban New York. Full bio
Mark Bezos works at Robin Hood, a poverty-fighting charity in New York City, and the assistant captain of a volunteer fire company in suburban New York. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:15
Back in New York, I am the head of development
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I New York er jeg sjef for utvikling
00:17
for a non-profit called Robin Hood.
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i en veldedig organisasjon som heter Robin Hood.
00:20
When I'm not fighting poverty, I'm fighting fires
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Når jeg ikke bekjemper fattigdom, bekjemper jeg branner
00:22
as the assistant captain of a volunteer fire company.
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som assisterende kaptein i et frivillig brannmannlag.
00:25
Now in our town,
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I vår by,
00:27
where the volunteers supplement a highly skilled career staff,
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hvor de frivillige støtter et høyt kvalifisert og profesjonelt brannvesen,
00:30
you have to get to the fire scene pretty early
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så må du komme til brannen ganske tidlig
00:32
to get in on any action.
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for å få noe å gjøre.
00:34
I remember my first fire.
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Jeg husker min første brann.
00:36
I was the second volunteer on the scene,
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Jeg var den andre frivillige på stedet,
00:38
so there was a pretty good chance I was going to get in.
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så det var en ganske god sjanse for at jeg fikk gå inn.
00:41
But still it was a real footrace against the other volunteers
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Men fortsatt var det et skikkelig race mote de andre frivillige
00:43
to get to the captain in charge
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å komme seg til den ansvarlige kapteinen
00:45
to find out what our assignments would be.
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for å bli tildelt oppgaver.
00:47
When I found the captain,
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Da jeg fant kapteinen,
00:49
he was having a very engaging conversation
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var han i en meget engasjert samtale
00:51
with the homeowner,
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med huseieren,
00:53
who was surely having one of the worst days of her life.
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som helt sikkert hadde en av sine verste dager i sitt liv.
00:57
Here it was, the middle of the night,
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Det var midt på natten,
00:59
she was standing outside in the pouring rain,
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hun sto ute i pøsende regn,
01:02
under an umbrella, in her pajamas, barefoot,
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under en paraply, i pysjamasen, barfot,
01:05
while her house was in flames.
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mens huset hennes sto i flammer.
01:08
The other volunteer who had arrived just before me --
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Den andre frivillige som hadde ankommet rett før meg --
01:10
let's call him Lex Luther --
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la oss kalle ham Lex Luthor --
01:13
(Laughter)
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(Latter)
01:15
got to the captain first
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kom til kapteinen først
01:17
and was asked to go inside
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og ble bedt om å gå inn
01:20
and save the homeowner's dog.
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og redde huseierens hund.
01:23
The dog! I was stunned with jealousy.
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Hunden! Jeg var full av sjalusi.
01:26
Here was some lawyer or money manager
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Her var en advokat eller finansforvalter
01:28
who, for the rest of his life, gets to tell people
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som for resten av livet kunne fortelle folk
01:30
that he went into a burning building
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at han gikk inn i en brennende bygning
01:32
to save a living creature,
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for å redde et levende vesen,
01:34
just because he beat me by five seconds.
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bare fordi han slo meg med fem sekunder.
01:37
Well, I was next.
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Vel, jeg var nestemann.
01:39
The captain waved me over.
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Kapteinen vinket meg over.
01:41
He said, "Bezos, I need you to go into the house.
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Han sa, "Bezos, jeg vil at du skal gå inn i det huset.
01:44
I need you to go upstairs, past the fire,
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Gå opp i andre etasje, forbi flammene,
01:47
and I need you to get this woman a pair of shoes."
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og hent et par sko til denne kvinnen."
01:50
(Laughter)
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(Latter)
01:53
I swear.
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Jeg sverger.
01:55
So, not exactly what I was hoping for,
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Så, ikke helt det jeg hadde håpet på,
01:58
but off I went --
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men jeg satte i gang --
02:00
up the stairs, down the hall, past the 'real' firefighters,
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opp trappene, ned gangen, forbi de 'virkelige' brannmennene,
02:03
who were pretty much done putting out the fire at this point,
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som praktisk talt hadde slukket brannen på dette tidspunktet,
02:06
into the master bedroom to get a pair of shoes.
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inn i hovedsoverommet for å hente et par sko.
02:09
Now I know what you're thinking,
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Jeg vet hva dere tenker,
02:12
but I'm no hero.
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men jeg er ingen helt.
02:14
(Laughter)
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(Latter)
02:19
I carried my payload back downstairs
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Jeg bar min last tilbake ned trappene
02:22
where I met my nemesis
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hvor jeg møtte min nemesis
02:24
and the precious dog by the front door.
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og den dyrebare hunden ved døren.
02:26
We took our treasures outside to the homeowner,
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Vi tok våre skatter med ut til huseieren,
02:29
where, not surprisingly,
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hvor, ikke overraskende,
02:31
his received much more attention than did mine.
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hans mottok mye mer oppmerksomhet enn min.
02:34
A few weeks later,
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Noen uker senere,
02:36
the department received a letter from the homeowner
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mottok avdelingen et brev fra huseieren
02:38
thanking us for the valiant effort displayed
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hvor hun takket oss for den flotte innsatsen vi hadde utvist
02:40
in saving her home.
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i å redde huset hennes.
02:42
The act of kindness she noted above all others:
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Den ene handlingen hun bemerket over alle andre:
02:45
someone had even gotten her a pair of shoes.
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noen hadde til og med hentet henne et par sko.
02:48
(Laughter)
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(Latter)
02:50
In both my vocation at Robin Hood
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I både min beskjeftigelse i Robin Hood
02:52
and my avocation as a volunteer firefighter,
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og min bibeskjeftigelse som en frivillig brannmann,
02:54
I am witness to acts of generosity and kindness
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så er jeg vitne til generøse og omtenksomme handlinger
02:57
on a monumental scale,
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på en monumental skala,
02:59
but I'm also witness to acts of grace and courage
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men jeg er også vitne til handlinger om nåde og styrke
03:01
on an individual basis.
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på en individuell basis.
03:03
And you know what I've learned?
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Og vet du hva jeg har lært?
03:05
They all matter.
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Alle betyr noe.
03:07
So as I look around this room
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Så når jeg ser meg omkring i dette rommet
03:09
at people who either have achieved,
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på folk som enten har oppnådd,
03:11
or are on their way to achieving,
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eller er på vei til å oppnå
03:13
remarkable levels of success,
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suksess på høyt nivå,
03:15
I would offer this reminder:
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så vil jeg gjerne tilby følgende påminnelse:
03:17
don't wait.
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ikke vent.
03:19
Don't wait until you make your first million
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Ikke vent til du har tjent din første million
03:21
to make a difference in somebody's life.
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med å gjøre en forskjell i noens liv.
03:23
If you have something to give,
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Om du har noe å gi,
03:25
give it now.
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gi det nå.
03:27
Serve food at a soup kitchen. Clean up a neighborhood park.
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Server mat på et suppekjøkken, rydd opp en park i nabolaget,
03:30
Be a mentor.
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vær en mentor.
03:32
Not every day is going to offer us a chance
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Ikke hver dag vil gi oss muligheten
03:34
to save somebody's life,
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til å redde noens liv,
03:36
but every day offers us an opportunity to affect one.
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men hver dag gir oss muligheten til å påvirke et.
03:39
So get in the game. Save the shoes.
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Så sett i gang, redd skoene.
03:42
Thank you.
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Takk.
03:44
(Applause)
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(Applaus)
03:49
Bruno Giussani: Mark, Mark, come back.
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Bruno Giussani: Mark, Mark, kom tilbake.
03:51
(Applause)
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(Applaus)
03:58
Mark Bezos: Thank you.
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Mark Bezos: Takk.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Mark Bezos - Activist, volunteer firefighterMark Bezos works at Robin Hood, a poverty-fighting charity in New York City, and the assistant captain of a volunteer fire company in suburban New York.
Why you should listen
Mark Bezos is the SVP, Development, Communications & Events at Robin Hood, the leading poverty-fighting charity in New York City. Bezos joined Robin Hood following the sale of his advertising agency, excited to have found a way to use his powers of persuasion for good.
Bezos is the Assistant Captain of a volunteer fire company in Westchester County, New York, where he lives with his wife and four children. He is continuously amazed and motivated by the everyday acts of heroism--big and small--that surround him.
Mark Bezos | Speaker | TED.com